1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector attachment structure for electronic apparatus, and especially relates to a connector attachment structure for protecting electronic components of the electronic apparatus from static electricity discharged to the connector when connecting a communication cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electronic apparatuses to which various kinds of communication cables are connected, various methods are conventionally proposed to protect electronic component of the electronic apparatus from static electricity discharged to a connector when a communication cable is connected thereto. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-63336 discloses a connector attachment structure which prevents occurrence of noise by letting off the static electricity to a heat sink, chassis, or the like by covering whole of a circuit board with a large fireproof cover plate on an outer shell of an USB connector.
On the other hand, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-158065 discloses a connector shielding structure in which a PI board with an all-overlaying pattern is formed between a first shield covering a peripheral portion of a surface except an insertion face in a PI unit on the PI board and a second shield covering a peripheral portion of a rear surface.
Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1998-32047 discloses a connector for IC card that a metal plate on a top face of the IC card is grounded through a plate spring member.
Still furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-342697 discloses a structure to remove static electricity for the purpose of preventing generation of noise caused by the static electricity when inserting and pulling out a printed circuit board with using a conductive attachment device.
However, the above mentioned conventional structures are unfit for inexpensive electronic apparatuses for consumers, because they need relatively costly exclusive components such as the fireproof cover plate, the plate spring member for grounding, the conductive attachment device, and so on, and thereby, expenses of them increase. In addition, the structure described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-158065 needs the PI board to which the all over-laying pattern is added as well as the first and the second shields, and thereby, the unit cost of the PI board increases due to the increase of a number of components, so that the expense of the apparatus piles up.